Art Matters Exhibition Facilitator Application Form

Part 0 - Call-Out Information

Facilitators are selected based on their interpersonal skills, willingness to represent the festival as a whole, writing skills and interest in organizing art events across the disciplines.

Facilitators select artists from all Fine Arts departments at Concordia University to be presented together in spaces such as cultural institutions, art galleries, artist-run centers, theatres, concert halls and public spaces.

For the 20th Edition of the Art Matters Festival, facilitators will work together to choose artists from the pool of applicants to represent the programming for the whole festival.

As artworks, performances, music, dance and theatre pieces speak to each other, a vision for the whole 20th anniversary festival can be achieved.

As a team, facilitators will then create coherent groupings of works to be presented together in various spaces. The venue most accommodating to the group of work in question will then be assigned, based on a finite list of venues.

Facilitators will agree together and based on their personal interests, who will be facilitating which exhibition. Once artists and a venue are assigned to each facilitator, communicating with the artists, the space’s staff as well as technical support will be the facilitators’ main tasks.

Private workshops will be offered to facilitators to help them achieve their vision in regard to their specific event inside the festival’s programming.

The festival takes place in March 2020 (March 2nd to 22nd). However, the opening night will be on February 29th, during Nuit Blanche and will consist of a one night only visual art and performative short works exhibition. Other collaborations (CUCCR Residency, Art POP and Festival CHROMATIC) will also be taking place this year, during the festival’s programming and as satellite events during the months of May and September.

Art Matters is about content and form, as well as creating opportunities for social and conscious changes in the arts. The festival encourages interdisciplinary events and exhibitions.

The 20th edition of the festival greatly encourages intersections between disciplines as well as progressive pieces.

Our goal is to create our own art space and community through the creation of lasting relationships between student-artists. We are, all of us together, creating the future of art!

Facilitators interested in creating interdisciplinary events are the ideal candidates.

Eligibility

APPLICANTS must be undergraduate students at Concordia University.

APPLICANTS must be registered in at least one Fine Arts course during the 2019-20 year (note: this restriction doesn’t apply to the artist call-out that will open up in November)

APPLICANTS must be voting members of Art Matters. In other words, they cannot have opted-out of their Art Matters fee-levy

APPLICANTS must submit a complete application form on the Art Matters Website before October 4th 2019 at 11:59 PM to be considered by the Jury.

Previous experience in artistic curation is not required

Application Requirements

The first step of the application process will take about 45 minutes to an hour to complete.

A short presentation about yourself/your team;

A short text about your interest in the Art Matters festival;

Describing how the festival could be improved going forward;

Description of the type of event you would like to organize (music, film, theatre, dance, visual arts, intermedia, performance, design);

Your experience and interpersonal skills;

A short curatorial statement example.

Following a thorough revision of all applications, selected candidates will be called in for an interview.

The jury will consist of the Art Matters coordinators’ team, two members of the Art Matters’ board, a Faculty member as well as an external jury from the Montreal art community.

The interview's jury will consist of the three Art Matters coordinators as well as our Board of Directors Co-Chairs.

Please note that you are more than welcome to apply even if you have no experience organizing artistic events.

Art Matters’ purpose is to give students opportunities they would not otherwise get because of lack of experience. This could be your way into the art world!

For this 20th edition, artistic events such as visual art exhibitions will last only one week, giving the chance to more artists to showcase their work. Many one night events, such as concerts, performance night, film screenings, theatre pieces and dance recitals are expected to take place during this year’s festival.

We encourage you to be specific about your objectives and take risks.

Art Matters mandate focuses on diversity, anti-oppression, peer support and the creation of safe spaces for open discussion.

It is our goal for this mandate to be reflected in our programming and, as such, Art Matters recognises and welcomes the unique contributions that individuals from marginalized and oppressed communities bring to our organization, and invites these individuals to apply.

We encourage applicants to describe the unique contributions they, as individuals with diverse experiences, would bring to Art Matters in their submission.

We encourage each APPLICANT to inform themselves of our anti-oppression mandate, to reflect on their own position as a facilitator, and to be aware of which themes or narratives may be communicated through the works they will be presenting.

Take note that selected facilitators cannot apply as artists and may not display their own work within their artistic event.

Along with being flexible, we encourage facilitators to be realistic with their propositions, taking into consideration possible space constraints, technical limitations, or equipment requirements.

Part 1 - Anti-Oppression Mandate

The 2020 Art Matters mandate focuses on diversity, anti-oppression, peer support and the creation of safe spaces for open discussion.

It is our goal for this mandate to be reflected in our programming and, as such, Art Matters recognises and welcomes the unique contributions that individuals from marginalized and oppressed communities bring to our organization, and invite these individuals to apply.

We encourage applicants to describe the unique contributions they, as individuals with diverse experiences, would bring to Art Matters in their submission.

We encourage each APPLICANT to inform themselves of our anti-oppression mandate, to reflect on their own positionality as an curator, and to be aware of which themes or narratives may be communicated through their work.

This year, before submitting any proposal, we ask every applicant to read this Anti-Oppression statement, written by two recently graduated students and past Art Matters participants, and to take the time to reflect on theses issues before presenting your proposal.

The Kanien’keha:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of these lands and waters. Tiohtia:ke/Montreal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations.

Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples.

We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the Montreal community.

Fine arts and academia have an ongoing history of oppression.

This student organization exists at the intersection of their colonial legacies, and is woven into the fabric of structural and systemic violence(s) that uphold such institutions.

This structural and systemic violence includes, and most often represents the prioritization of certain bodies and their interests based on race, ability, sex, gender, sexuality, nationality/status, class, education, culture, religion and more.

For instance, in the history of fine arts, certain movements have mobilized racist aesthetics to depict and interpret the experiences of colonized peoples while using such depictions to justify colonial rule (and, subsequently, neo-colonialism/global capitalism).

The following questions encourage “us” to consider positionality, intention and impact in art practice(s) to move toward iterations of student initiatives that acknowledge the historical legacies of fine arts and academia while manifesting a present and future that prioritize the voices, experiences, knowledge and safety of those who have been excluded and/or oppressed by these structures.

The following questionnaire aims to foster reflexivity within and beyond this community by giving examples of how oppression may manifest in individual and collective art practices.

1. Are you able to perceive the difference between intention and impact?

2. Are you willing and able to prioritize the voices of those experiencing the impact of your work?

3. Does your work allude to forms of violence that are systemically perpetrated against certain bodies? If so, does it contribute to their reproduction and normalization?

4. Do encounters with your work evoke/provoke trauma for the bodies you seek to represent?

5. Does your work sensationalize traumatic events for the sake of shock value?

6. Do you experience systemic privileges?

7. Are you telling someone else’s past, present, or future story in your own voice while your own embodied experience and cultural references differ from this person’s? Does this act contribute to the commodification, marginalization, and fetishization of a given culture, its symbols, aesthetics, etc.?

9. Does your work include stereotypical imagery that is uncritical of its origins?

10. Do you use words like “intersectional” and/or “anti-oppressive” to justify problematic themes in your work?

Answers:

1. We hope so.

2. You better.

3. If yes, that is part of systemic violence.

4. If yes, see 3 + this makes your work and the space of exhibition inaccessible

5. If yes, see 3 + 4 + you are taking advantage of marginalized people’s experiences and trivializing them.

6. Surprise! It’s always yes. Follow up question: which ones?

7. If yes, that’s appropriation.

8. If yes, that’s whitewashing.

9. If yes, see 3.

10. If yes, that’s deflection.

Bonus question: Whose shoulders are you standing on?

Please consider the implications of your answer.

If you are unable to uphold and represent the values of this student organization, please think of how you can leave your position and give space for those who have experienced systemic oppression in order to tell their own stories.

________________________________________________________

written by

Florence cing-gaai Yee

nènè myriam konaté

Anti-Oppression Mandate

I agree that my work does not contain or encourage any form of oppression based on gender, sexual orientation, race, economic status, language ability, religious preference, age, ability or other intersecting forms of oppression. Please note, that such subjects may be explored within Art Matters exhibitions, however, artists are encouraged to reflect on their own positionality within these contexts, to treat such matters respectfully and to honour the voices of marginalised groups, free of discrimination and generalisation.

Part 2 - Applicant(s) Information

Please provide us with some basic contact information. Note that if you are applying in a group (3 people max.), “Applicant 1” will be the primary contact.

Name (Applicant 1)

First Name Last Name

Preferred Pronoun (Applicant 1)

Student ID (Applicant 1)

Year of Study (Applicant 1)

Program of Study (Applicant 1)

Email (Applicant 1)

example@example.com

Phone Number (Applicant 1)

-
Area Code Phone Number

I confirm that I am registered in at least one Fine Arts course during the 2019-20 year. (Applicant 1)

Yes Why does it matter?

Name (Applicant 2)

First Name Last Name

Preferred Pronoun (Applicant 2)

Student ID (Applicant 2)

Year of Study (Applicant 2)

Program of Study (Applicant 2)

Email (Applicant 2)

example@example.com

Phone Number (Applicant 2)

-
Area Code Phone Number

I confirm that I am registered in at least one Fine Arts course during the 2019-20 year. (Applicant 2)

Yes Why does it matter

Name (Applicant 3)

First Name Last Name

Preferred Pronoun (Applicant 3)

Student ID (Applicant 3)

Year of Study (Applicant 3)

Program of Study (Applicant 3)

Email (Applicant 3)

example@example.com

Phone Number (Applicant 3)

-
Area Code Phone Number

I confirm that I am registered in at least one Fine Arts course during the 2019-20 year. (Applicant 3)

Yes Why does it matter?

Part 3 - Application & Exhibition Information

Tell us a bit about yourself / your team (300 words max.)

300 words max.

How and/or what do you think Art Matters could improve for it's 20th Anniversary and in the future? (300 words max.)

300 words max.

Please provide a description of the type of artistic event you would like to organize. Include the type of art you would involve and the type of space you would like to use. Do not think of a theme as of yet, this will come much later in the process.(300-500 words)

300-500 words max.

Please tell us about a time when you were in a situation of conflict. Explain how you reacted and how you managed to solve the conflict (200 words max.)

200 words max.

Part 4- Applicant(s) background & Curatorial statement

Tell us a bit about your background facilitating/organizing artistic events or any other experience pertinent to this position (200 words max.)

200 words max.

The selected applicants will have to write a curatorial statement. Please provide an example of a curatorial statement, written for a real or fictive artistic events (300 words max.)

300 words max.

Art Matters recognizes and welcomes the unique contributions that individuals from marginalized and oppressed communities bring to our organization, and invites these individuals to apply. We encourage applicants to describe the unique contributions they, as individuals with diverse experiences, would bring to Art Matters. (optional, 300 words max.)

Optional - 300 words max.

Are there any restrictions or concerns you foresee with your involvement in Art Matters 2020 (e.g. accessibility, time constraints…)? (optional, 100 words max.)

Optional - 100 words max.

The Art Matters Festival is presenting the CUCCR Residency Program's Exhibition as part of their 20th Anniversary Programming. I would like to be considered as a Facilitator to the CUCCR Residency Program's Exhibition, a three weeks show happening at the VAV Gallery during the Festival, punctuated by various talks and workshops. If you are selected, you will be invited to sit on the CUCCR Jury to select the future CUCCR artists-in-residence.